


Getting There

by Indig0



Series: DBH Rare Pairs Weeks [14]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Daniel is a fallen guardian angel, Demon Summoning, Drug Use, Leo is a walking disaster, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 01:30:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20648990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indig0/pseuds/Indig0
Summary: Leo summons a demon, who realizes trying to torture him would be redundant.  Daniel's failed before, but he's determined to struggle through doing something good, even if that's not what he's supposed to be doing.(DBH Rare Pairs Week: Free Day.  Demon Summoning AU)





	Getting There

Leo had been pretty high when he’d met up with his friends, and they’d sat around and got even higher, he’d never felt so good… then somebody’d offered him something new.

And then things got weird.

Like, how kickass would it be to summon a demon? None of that fake Bloody Mary Ouija board shit, the real deal. How weird was that? What even were those weird symbols? They weren’t even words, he couldn’t even talk without laughing. Where’d the other guys go? They’d think this was hilarious!

The pressure changed in the air, and Leo’s stomach turned. He retched. He vomited all over the demon circle.

As he was crumpling and the world was going dark, he thought he heard a voice mutter, “Gross.”

When he woke up, he was covered in a thin quilt and his tongue felt furry. He groaned and rolled over.

“You often sleep on the floor?”

“Nngh. Sometimes.” Leo rolled over.

“You’re really just going back to sleep!?”

“Beats listening to you!” Leo snapped, sitting up and squinting. “Were you here last night?”

The blonde guy leaned down from his perch on the table. “Long enough to see the results of that disaster.” He gestured at the floor next to Leo, where vomit dried on a messy circle of symbols.

“We were… summoning a demon,” Leo mumbled, rubbing his eyes. It didn’t sound so cool now.

“Yep.” The guy hopped off the table and crouched down next to Leo, setting a cup next to him. “Here, take a drink.”

Leo made a face. “What’s that?”

“The semen of a million incubi – it’s water, you idiot.” The blonde rolled his eyes.

“Who the fuck are you, anyway?” Leo muttered, glaring and taking a long drink.

“Daniel.”

“You Chad’s friend?”

“No.”

Leo rubbed his head and yawned.

“You should go home.”

“I’ve got work.” Leo checked his phone and groaned, flopping back down. “…Nevermind, no I don’t.”

“Then get up and go home, what are you doing passed out in your own vomit on a church basement floor!? Come on, man, you’re 28 years old!”

Leo blinked and frowned. “How do you know how old I am?”

“Get off the floor!”

After much prodding, Leo finally got up. “You like a priest or something? An altar boy?” He snickered.

Daniel snorted. “Definitely not. Come on, you’re hungry and you need to drink more. Do you even have any food at home?”

“I dunno, but I’m not feeding you.”

“Yes you are. Go home, I’ll bring something to eat.” Daniel made sure he got out the door, then walked away.

“Fucking weirdo,” Leo muttered, and staggered home.

Leo’s stash was running low so he tried ignoring the craving, opting to stare at the TV instead. He jumped when the door opened.

“The fuck, man!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t leave your door open if you don’t want people walking in,” Daniel suggested, walking in with a bag of groceries.

“Who told you where I live?”

“I don’t need to be told. I’m making pancakes.”

“What if I’m gluten intolerant?”

“You’re not. …Though with all that shit you threw up last night, you’re probably intolerant of a few other things.”

Leo curled up and glared at him while he started mixing the batter.

“I just got everything because I figured you might not have anything… And damn, nothing at all,” Daniel muttered, opening the fridge. “Ketchup. You’ve got ketchup.”

“You never made a ketchup sandwich?”

“You don’t have any bread.”

“Why the fuck are you in my house?”

“…I don’t know, I was going to say I was here to torture you but you’re doing way better at that than I ever could.” He came over with a plate of warm fluffy pancakes. With syrup all over them. And a perfect pat of butter on top. Leo stared at it.

“You nauseous again or what? Eat, just go slow.”

Leo cut up the pancakes with the side of his fork, and chewed a mouthful slowly. They were really, really good. Daniel cleaned up, then came and sat on the opposite end of the couch, and just watched him.

“You’re creepy,” Leo said after swallowing.

“Yep.”

“What the fuck are you even doing here?”

Daniel shrugged. “Now that I’m here, I’d like to stay for a while.”

“I never told you where I lived or said you could come in. I could call the cops.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow and laughed. “Right.”

A deep frown slowly spread over Leo’s face. He suddenly lunged at Daniel, knocking him off the couch and pinning him to the floor. Daniel blinked up at him.

“I’ll fuck you up if you try anything with me, you asshole,” Leo snarled.

“Looks to me like you just wanted to get on top of me.” Daniel’s eyes strayed downwards, and he laughed when Leo blushed. “And while we’re here…” He flipped Leo on his back hard, knocking the wind out of him. He leaned down to whisper, “I hope you enjoyed your breakfast,” before rising and walking away.

Leo shuddered. “Get out of my fucking house.” He tried to sound tough and mad, but he could hear his voice shaking.

“Whatever you say. I’ve got plenty of things to see.”

Leo didn’t hear the door, but the next time he looked up Daniel was gone. He didn’t see him again for a while.

“What’re you up to?”

Leo jumped. “Shit, where’d you come from!?”

Daniel shrugged. “Where are you going?”

“Gonna go see my old man. …God he’s a fucker, but he always throws money at me to make me go away.”

“So why are you going?”

Leo shrugged. “I dunno. Worst-case scenario, I’ve got some money.” He wiped a little blood from his nose.

Daniel frowned. “Hey. You wanna get something to eat?”

“What? No, I’m busy.”

“You’re hungry. Let’s get something to eat. Come on, I’ve been eating things all week, I know some good places.” He put an arm around Leo.

“Fuck off.” Leo shrugged him off.

“What happens if you see your dad? Warm, loving reunion? Tells you how proud he is? Play catch in the backyard?” Daniel sneered.

“I said fuck off.”

“No, it won’t be like that, will it? Because your dad’s got his huge house and there aren’t any pictures of you on the wall, no notes on the calendar, no trace that you exist. You know it’ll make things worse.” Daniel shoved him, but not hard. “…So come with me instead.”

“Why the fuck would I go anywhere with you, you’ll probably murder me in an alley!”

“I was in your house for hours, obviously I don’t want to murder you,” Daniel growled, turning away. “Come on, let’s get some food. I’m buying.”

Leo stopped, wavering. He was really in the mood for a fight with his dad, because at least it’d be some acknowledgement that he existed. But… free food was free food.

One hunger won out over another.

“Guess I’ll just fuck off myself then.” He stalked away, shoving Daniel hard. The blonde didn’t follow him.

A few hours later Leo staggered up to his door, cursing softly under his breath as he fumbled for his keys. He dug in all his pockets a few times, then slammed his fist into the doorjamb.

“FUCK!” He gasped and clutched his hand. “Owwww…”

The door opened, and Daniel looked him up and down.

“Y-you’re always in my fuckin’ house, I dunno who you even are, get the fuck out!” Leo’s voice cracked and he inhaled raggedly.

“You wouldn’t believe me. Are you still hungry? I made this lemon beef and potato dish, it’s really good.”

“Prob’ly gonna poison me,” Leo sniffled.

“Hey.” Daniel put a hand on his shoulder and led him to sit down. “I wouldn’t poison you. You’ve had enough of that crap for one day. You’re gonna get something in your stomach and sleep it off.”

“’M not drunk,” Leo whined.

“You’re almost as high as the night we met, and you’re oozing negative energy.”

“What are you, a witch or something?”

“Or something,” Daniel agreed. He brought over a plate of food, then a cup of ginger tea. Leo tried to take a drink, and would have dropped the mug if Daniel hadn’t been holding it.

“It’s hot. And you’re kind of an idiot,” Daniel said gently. He handed him a cup of water and Leo took a gulp, whimpering softly.

“Are you here to do creepy shit to me?” Leo mumbled, wiping his eyes.

“Have I done any creepy shit to you yet?” Daniel shot back.

“You’re always getting in my house…”

“Yeah, maybe if you’d take care of yourself and make a good decision now and then, this would’ve gone differently.”

“W-what does that even mean!?”

“Eat your food, and your tea will cool down.”

Leo poked his food for a moment, then tried a little bit of potato. His face lit up. “Oh God, that’s good shit.” He started shoveling it into his mouth while Daniel grinned. He ate a plate and a half and drank three cups of tea, then sighed, sinking back into the couch.

“Doing better?”

“Mm.” He turned to look at Daniel. “Are you like… I dunno, a guardian angel or something?”

Daniel’s face went blank, then he snorted, curling up on the opposite corner of the couch. “No. Nothing like that. Not anymore.”

“Did you steal my key?”

“You locked it in here, you moron.”

“The first time.”

Daniel blinked, then shrugged. “You asked me in.”

“I wasn’t that high.”

“Oh no, you definitely were. You invited me.” As he spoke, Daniel’s voice deepened and took on a faint echo. “You summoned me Leo Manfred, and spewed your essence upon the circle, thus binding the contract.”

“My essence is puke?” Leo whispered. “…Wait, contract?”

“So you and your idiot friends were trying to summon a demon,” Daniel explained slowly, holding eye contact. “And it worked, through some infernal coincidence. And here I am.”

“You’re saying you’re a demon?”

Daniel shrugged and nodded.

“Do something evil.”

The blonde jabbed him in the shin with a pointed fingernail.

“Ow!” Leo hissed, bending and putting a hand to his leg. “Fuck you!”

“You told me to!”

“So are you my servant now? Or like a genie or something?”

“No.” Daniel rolled his eyes and got up, taking the empty dishes.

“You fed me, you cleaned up…”

“I took some time to see the world while you were off making bad choices. I found things I liked.” Daniel grinned, and Leo hadn’t noticed how sharp his teeth were. “Thought you might like them too.”

“Cooking?”

“Yeah, cooking. What do you like? Because since I met you, you’ve been miserable and haven’t done a single thing that might make you happy.”

“Fuck you, I was having fun at that party until you showed up! I tried to go see my dad and he was an asshole, that’s not my fault!”

“Your friends left you alone in a basement when you’d mixed some pretty nasty drugs. Your dad’s always an asshole, you know he’s not gonna change, move on!” Daniel snapped. “You can do better.”

Leo let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Me? Fuck no, I can’t do better. This is a good as it’s ever gonna get.” He curled into a ball. A violent shudder ran down his spine.

Daniel stared at him, then moved closer, draping a blanket around him. “Give it a try,” he murmured.

Leo sniffled and shook his head.

“Too bad,” Daniel whispered, rubbing his fingers into Leo’s dark hair. He leaned down and kissed the nape of the young man’s neck, sucking a little at the skin, then sat back.

Leo shot upright with a strangled gasp. “Holy shit,” he croaked, grasping the stained couch cushions. “What the fuck’d you do!?”

“Got the drugs out of your system. Should make recovery a lot faster.” He licked his lips slowly. “Nasty stuff”

“Fuck you!” Leo lurched off the couch, falling over the blanket, and ran for his stash… which was gone. Daniel stretched out on the couch while he tore the apartment apart looking for anything, anything at all. Finally he collapsed in the bedroom, sobbing.

“It’s a bitch, huh?” Daniel wandered in and sat on his bed. “You should probably sleep it off.”

“How do you expect me to sleep through this you asshole!? You got any idea –“

Daniel lay his palm on Leo’s head, and the young man passed out.

Every time Leo woke up, Daniel had something ready for him to eat and drink. He made him take showers, made him change clothes, made him get up and do little things.

“I figured you were lying about being a demon, but you sure love to see me suffer,” Leo snarled early one morning.

“Are you kidding me? All the shit you put yourself through, and you think _I_ want to see you suffer?” Daniel rolled his eyes.

“Then what the fuck are you doing here!?”

Daniel walked over and began rubbing his shoulders. “I’d kind of like to see you happy,” he whispered after a moment. “And just… you know, okay.”

“What?”

“You’re always either miserable or drugged out of your mind. What if you were happy for a while?”

“Yeah, like it’s that easy,” Leo muttered, giving him a halfhearted push.

“I know it’s not. But maybe in time.”

“I don’t… I don’t get why you care. What do you get out of this?” He looked up, fighting to keep his face a mask of annoyance.

“Well I feed on your negativity, and let me tell you, I’ve got enough to last me years right here.”

“Fuck off!”

“And I think I like your company.”

“God, that’s pathetic.”

“Yeah, you can shut up too. You’re – there’s a lot more to you than you let people see.”

“There’s nothing to me,” Leo muttered, looking down. “I’m just taking up space.”

Daniel leaned down, sliding his arms around Leo as he did. “What do you want to be?” he murmured.

“I – shit, it doesn’t matter. Just – anything. Anything’s better than… this.”

“I could help you.”

Leo sniffled wetly. “Yeah, why, to get my soul or something? I guarantee if I have one, it’s black and rotten. You’re wasting your time.”

“No.” Daniel leaned his cheek into Leo’s. “You ask a lot of questions.”

“So?”

“I like that.”

“You’re a fucking weirdo.”

“I like you,” Daniel whispered.

Leo froze. “Why? I’m – Shit, I’m a whole fucking disaster.”

“I know.”

“So why? How could you possibly – what could I ever offer you? Just… feeding you?”

“No, there’s plenty of ambient negativity out in the world. I’m not a glutton, I could get by well around here.”

“So what, then?”

“Just you.” Daniel leaned in to kiss the side of Leo’s mouth.

“I – I’m…”

“I know you’re not in a great place right now. We’ll work on that.”

“Y-you’re a creep. What if I hate you?”

Daniel stilled beside him and pulled away a little. “Give it… a month,” he muttered, looking away. “Let me just… help you get your shit fixed. I’m connected to you anyway. I won’t make any moves on you. But once you’ve got your life straightened out a little… tell me again. If you hate me. And I’ll leave. But you… you have to tell me then, because… I… I can’t…” He broke off and swallowed thickly, shaking his head.

Leo watched him for a minute, and realized he didn’t know much about Daniel, but he didn’t want to see that visceral pain overtake him. “…Okay. Shit, whatever, sure. I, uh… don’t hate you yet.”

Daniel relaxed a little, smiled faintly. “Good.”

True to his word, Daniel didn’t bring up his feelings again. He took care of Leo and pushed him to take care of himself. It would be a long road, but by the end of the month Leo felt better than he had in years. And he kept track of the days, but a month came and went and still Daniel said nothing.

“Guess you got over me, huh?” Leo sneered the next morning.

Daniel’s face went blank. “I said I wouldn’t push you.”

“Yeah, it’s been a month.”

“I didn’t want to seem like I was just… waiting to jump on you,” Daniel mumbled.

“Where were you gonna go, anyway? You said you’d leave me alone. Back to hell or whatever?”

Daniel’s face twitched. “No. Maybe the other side of the world. Somewhere else where I wouldn’t be reminded of you if… you didn’t want me. I don’t know, you summoned me then told me to leave without specifying where, so I can go wherever I want. I don’t want to go back where I was.”

“You stayin’, then?”

“If you’ll have me.” Daniel spoke stiffly, eyes downcast, face tense.

Leo scoffed and pulled him into a tight hug. “Shit, man, you’ve got a whole month to make up for.”

Daniel let out a surprised laugh and held him close. “I wasn’t sure…”

“Now who’s being an idiot?” Leo grinned. “Damn, if you can put up with my pathetic ass, no way in hell am I letting you go!”

“Never,” Daniel muttered fiercely. “Are… are you happy with this?”

“With this? Yeah.”

“…In general?”

“Getting there.” Leo leaned in for a hesitant kiss and Daniel swept him up in his arms, leaning in to return it.


End file.
